Supporting-bracket for door-hanger tracks.



l PATENTED JULY 28, 19 08.

T. (L'PROUTY. SUPPORTING BRACKET FOR DOOR HANGER TRACKS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1905.

rnnononn 'ticularly to do with'sup orting-devices w UNITED STATES PAT NT QFFIOEQ c. rnourr, or AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'ro'wiLoox MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

snrron'rme nnacxu'r FOR noon-Emerita 'r nacxs.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE C. PBoIrrY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Su porting-Brackets for Door-Han er Tracks, 0 which the following is a spec" cation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to supporting-devices for tubular door-hanger tracks, and has 1c engage the interior of t 1e track so as to leave the exterior of the track clear to serve as the runway for the door-hanger wheel.

The object of my invention is to provide a supportin device of the class described which wil be self-binding as to its engagement with the track; and to this end it consists in providing a supporting-bracket having a head. which en ages the interior of the track and is normalIy of somewhat less .ex'- ternal'diameter than the internal diameter of the track so that it may move longitfidinallv therein but which is expanded automatically, by the attachment of the bracket to its su port so as to engage the track more firmly t ian before. Two important advantages of this construction are that the release of the bracket from its support automatically releases its grip upon the track and consequently permits the bracket to be shifted longitudinally thereof with ease, and the securing of the bracket to its su port immediately causes it to grip the track firmlyand hold it against longitudinal movement. So far as I am aware no one has heretofore produced a bracket, or other supporting-device, operating in this way, and the claims hereinafter made are to be construed accordingly.

In the accompanying drawings,-Figure 1 is an elevation of a part of a door, showing the application of my improved bracket; Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one form of tubular track which may be emplayed with my improved bracket; Fig. 4 is a perspective viewv of my improved bracket Fig. 5 is an edge view thereof; Fig. 6 is a view showing a modificationand Fig. 7 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the blank from whichthe bracket is made. v

i I shall now describe the embodiment of my invention illustrated.

iteicrring to the drawings,+-6 indicates Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed January 28, 1906. Serial No. 248,130.

Patented July as, 1908.

the door, and 7-8 door'hangers. I prefer to use hangers of the construction. shown,-but any other suitable form of han er may be employed. In the form shown the hanger is provided with an upppr roller or wheel 9, whichruns upon a. tu

10, as best shown inFig. 2. The track illustrated consists of a tube open at the side, as shown at 12 in Fig. 3, the openin extending from end to end of the track, ut this is not essential. Moreover, instead of using a track substantially circular in cross section, as illustrated, it may be made oval, square, or of any other suitable shape in cross section.

13 indicates my improved bracket, which,

, as best shown in F.' s. 4 and 5, comprises a .head 14 and attac ing arms 1516l7.

As will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 4, the bracket is formed from a blank somewhat in the shape of the letter Y,-the arm 17'forming the stem and the arms 15- 16 the two members of the fork. The head is composed of the intermediate portion of the blank formed by bending'thearm 17 around between the 'arms.15--16the inner ortions of which are alsorolled over so that the head 14 forms a loop extending from the intersection of the crossed arms. The head 14, in the construction shown, is substantially cylindrical inform. Where the bracket is intended for use with atrack of other than circular form'in cross section the head would be suitably shaped so as to engage the inner surface thereof when expanded, as hereinafter described. The end ortions of the three arms 15-1617 are t esigned to be secured to a suitable support,-and to that end are rovided with screw-holes 18. The portions in which the screw-holes are placed are not flattened so as to normally lie flat against the surface of the su port, but are inclined, as illustrated in full lines in Fig. 5'. They may, however, be forced closely up against the support by means of the attaching screws, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 5. construction before the ends of the arms 15- 16-17 are securcdin the sup ort the head 14 is contracted, but after t e screws, or other attachin -devic es, are inserted the head is cXpaiuIed,-this being due to the drawing together of the outer end portions of said arms by the insertion of the scre'ws, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 5. It will ular track 10, and a lower roller 11, which runs below the track By this my improved bracket is designed primarily be apparent from the foregoing description that while the head 14 in its normal or contracted condition may be freely moved within the track, when the head is expanded it grips the interior of the track tightly and revents longitudinal movement thereof. 1 a greater degree of expansion is desired than that which is naturally secured by screwing the arms 151617 tightly down upon their support it may be attained by moving the outer ends of said arms closer together and then screwing them down. The bracket is made of elastic material, such as steel,'so that it has a resilient action and permits of the adjustment of the parts necessary to secure the result hereinbefore described.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated the embodi-- ment of my invention in a bracket having a head 14 which engages the track at three separate points instead of fitting closely the inner surface of the track, as in Fig. 2. In addition to the advantages mentioned, my

improved bracket possesses the further ad-i.

vantage that it may be very economically made, since the brackets may be stamped out of a fiat sheet of material Without waste, as the parts of consecutive blanks match;

I wish it to be understood that my inven tion is not restricted to the specific construction illustrated and described, except in so far as particularly claimed; also that while .for supportin the trackfor door hangers it may be used or any purpose to which it is adapted.

'That which I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,'

1. A tube-supporting bracket,- vcomprising a head adapted to engage a tube internally,

and means arranged to automatically expand said head when said bracket is attached to its support said head being normally of reduced diameter. 2. A tube-supporting bracket, comprising atubular head adapte to engage a tube internally, and crossed attachingarrnsffor connecting said head with a suitable support.

3. A tube supporting bracket, comprising a head, and attaching means formed from a substantially Y-shaped blank.

4. A tube-supporting bracket, comprising a head, and attaching arms, said arms bein arranged to expand said head when move' closer together and to contract said head .A. M. Sco'r'r,

MINNIE L. PADDOGK; 

